Gear timing device



Dec. 23, 1958 H. J. FLAIR 8 GEAR TIMING DEVICE Filed Oct. 8, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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Dec. 23, 1958 H. J. FLAIR GEAR TIMING DEVICE 4 SheetsSheet 3 Filed Oct. 8, 1957 JL J INVENTOR fi e/75y iii/Z57 BY. 049w 4 74% Dec. 23, 1958 H. J. FLAIR GEAR TIMING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 8, 1957 QNN Wm United States Patent GEAR TIMING DEVICE Henry J. Flair, Franklin Park, Ill., assignor to Illinois Tool Works, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 8, 1957, Serial No. 688,918 14 Claims. (Cl. 90-4) one form of finishing machine, the rotation of the hob or cutter must be synchronized with the rotation of the work, both as to rate and as to phase. For rapid operation, it is mandatory that the hob rotate continuously, and that the spindle or arbor for receiving the semifinished gears also rotate continuously. Thus, it is imperative that the semifinished gears each be properly timed with regard to the hob before they are fixed in place on the work arbor.

It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for loading gears into a gear-finishing machine in proper timed relation to the movement of the finishing hob.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for properly timing semifinished gears with regard to a finishing hob.

It is aparticular object of this invention to provide apparatus for automatically loading semifinished gears into a gear-finishing machine with the semi-fiinished gears each rotating in proper timed relation to the rotation of the finishing hob.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for properly timing gears manually loaded into a gear-finishing machine. Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic gearloading apparatus in accordance with the principles of this invention as applied to a gear-finishing machine;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on an enlarged scale of the gear-loading chute;

Fig. 3 is a substantially vertical cross-sectional View through the gear-loading chute as taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a nearly horizontal sectional view taken longitudinally through the gear-loading chute substantially along the line 4--4 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the mechanism receiving the gears from the chute and transferring them one by one to the work arbor;

Fig. 6 is a generally horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 66 in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an end view of a manually operated apparatus for timing gears loaded by hand into the finishing machine; and

Fig. 8 is a view at right angles to Fig. 7 and partially in vertical section as taken substantially along the line 88 in Fig. 7.

Referring now in greater particularity to the drawings, and first to Fig. 1, there will be seen a gear-finishing ma- 2,865,258 Patented Dec. 23, 1958 chine 10 of known design, and including a finishing hob 12 driven at a predetermined speed of rotation. A work arbor 14 is driven in timed relation thereto and, in this instance, at a higher speed. The arbor is mounted between a headstock 16 and a tailstock 18, and is of the axially separable variety allowing a gear 20 to be positioned coaxially between the opposite ends of the arbor following which the arbor is telescoped properly to hold the gear for finishing by the hob 12. A conduit 22 is provided with a nozzle 24 for spraying cutting oil on the gear and hob, in accordance with conventional practice. A chute 26 is provided below the gear 20 for receiving finished gears as they drop gravitationally from the work arbor upon axial separation thereof. An extension track or chute 28 leads from the chute 26 and a lever 30 is engageable with gears rolling down the extension chute or track 28. The lever 30 is provided with a counterweight 32, and operates a counting device 34.

In addition to the foregoing, there is provided gearloading apparatus including a loading chute or track designated generally by the numeral 36, and shown in detail in Figs. 2-4, as well as in Fig. 1. The loading chute comprises a back wall 38 suitably secured to the machine 10 with the chute declined downwardly at a shallow angle relative to the horizontal. A top wall 40 .is secured along the top edge of the back wall 38 and extending in both directions therefrom, and to this top wall there is secured 8. depending flange 42 spaced forwardly from the back wall a distance slightly greater than the axial dimension of a gear, whereby properly to locate gears in the chute. A plurality of studs 44 are spaced along the back wall at a short distance above a bottom wall 46 which is secured along the bottom edge of the back wall 38 in parallelism with the top wall 40. A roller 48 is rotatably journaled on each of the studs 44, and a flexible belt 50 is passed over these rollers and also over a drive roller 52 fixed on a shaft 54 adjacent the lower corner at the entering end of the chute. This shaft is journaled in a slideable plate 56 having a dovetail connection 58 with the back wall 38, the plate being adjustably locked in place by bolts 60. The front of the shaft 54 is received in a slot 62 in a plate 64 secured to the front edge of the bottom wall 46. The shaft 54 is driven by an electric motor 66 through a flexible coupling 68. A bottom flange 70 extends along the forward edge of the bottom wall 46 from the plate 64 to the discharge end of the chute. This flange is aligned with and parallel to the upper flange 42 for aiding in properly locating the gears 20 moving down the chute.

Adjacent the lower end of the belt 50 there is provided a floor or shelf 72 having a top surface coplanar with the top surface of the upper reach of the belt 50. This floor is terminated at 74 short of the extreme end of the chute, whereby to drop the rough gears 20 therefrom, the floor or shelf being beveled at 76 adjacent the terminus 74 for this purpose. The floor 72 is provided with a recess 78, and a raised extension 80 of a lever arm 82, offset therefrom, is received in the recess. The lever 82 is pivoted on a stud 84 on the back wall 38 of the chute 36, and the opposite arm 86 thereof extends downwardly to engage the actuator 88 of a switch mechanism 90. The extension 80 and arm 82 of the lever are normally held down by the weight of gears 20 resting thereon, and a stop 92 extends rearwardly from the back wall 38 and underlies the lever arm 82 to limit downward movement thereof. Preferably, the stop 92 is provided with an upwardly extending screw 94 for adjusting the lower limit of the arm 82.

The switch mechanism is connected into the control circuit of the machine 10 so that whenever the switch mechanism 90 changes its condition due to the absence of any gears from the extension 80, the circuit is actuated in such a manner that a subsequent passing of a gear past the lever to actuate the counting device 34 causes the machine to be brought to a halt. Furthermore, the switch mechanism may be arranged to initiate a loading cycle when the switch condition changes momentarily as one gear leaves the extension 80 to be followed immediately by a subsequent gear.

A11 escapement lever 93 is pivotally mounted at 95 in a slot 96 substantially directly above the recess 78 and extension 80. This escapement lever 93 includes a heel 98 normally blocking the lowermost of the line of gears 20, as in Fig. 2. The opposite end of the lever is provided with a depending tooth 100, and when the lever is rocked in a counterclockwise direction the lowermost gear 20 is released and the next gear is blocked by the tooth 100. Subsequent clockwise rocking of the lever then raises the tooth from the subsequent gear, and allows this gear to assume the lowermost position.

The lower link 102 of a toggle 104 is pivotally connected to the lever 93 at 106, directly above the heel 98. The upper link 108 of the toggle is secured to a fixed pivot 110 on a housing 112 mounted on the top wall 40 of the chute. The central pivot 113 of the toggle is pivotally connected to a connecting rod 114, the latter being secured to the plunger 116 of a solenoid 118. A helical spring 120 encircles the connecting rod, and is compressed between the central pivot 113 and a stop 122 carried by the housing 112. Thus, the escapement parts normally are in the position shown in Fig. 2, and, upon retraction of the plunger 116 into the solenoid, the toggle 104 is broken to pivot the escapement lever in the counterclockwise position noted previously. When the solenoid is deenergized, the spring 120 returns the parts to the position shown.

At the terminating end of the chute 36, there is provided a filler block 124 having a concave lower surface 126 which is more or less concentric with the beveled surface 76 to discharge gears downwardly from the chute.

A transfer unit 128, see Figs. 1, 5, and 6, is supported on a tubular extension 130 secured to the machine 10 in a suitable manner. A timing shaft 132 is rotatable within the tubular extension 130, and has a timing gear 134 thereon at the outer end. The timing gear is keyed or otherwise suitably fixed to the timing shaft, and the timing shaft is rotated in timed relation with the hob 12 by means of gearing internal of the machine.

A sleeve 136 is pivotal or rotatable on the extension 130, and is provided with an integral pinion 138 which will be discussed more fully hereinafter. A vertical plate 140 is formed integral with the sleeve 136 at right angles thereto, and is joined by a bottom wall 142 to a parallel plate 144 spaced from the plate 140. The bottom wall 142 extends forwardly as a cradle'146 having a semicir cular insert or shoe 148 secured thereto by means such as screws or bolts 150. The shoe receives a gear 20 from the chute 36 and preferably is provided with narrow side flanges 152 for preventing axial movement of the gear on the shoe. A spring-loaded plunger 154 extends through the cradle 146 and the shoe 148 for engagement by the gear 20. Such engagement depresses the plunger, and operates the arm 156 of a switch mechanism 158 whereby to cause the transfer unit to be actuated.

A shaft 160 extends between the plates 140 and 144, being journaled in suitable antifriction bearings 162 therein. A timer idler gear 164 is mounted on the shaft 160 between a pair of spacers 166, and meshes with the timing gear 134 for rotation thereby. 164 is adapted to mesh with a gear 20 received on the cradle shoe 148 whereby to rotate the gear 20 in timed relation to the rotation of the shaft 132, and hence in timed relation to the rotation of the work arbor 14 and to the hob 12.

A generally U-shaped finger 168 is pivotally mounted on the plates 140 and 144, as at 170, straddling the timer The timer idler idler gear 164. The bight of the finger 168 is provided with a flat pressure portion or tip 172 resiliently engageable with the upper portion of a gear 20 carried by the cradle 146 and shoe 148, whereby resiliently to hold the gear in the cradle shoe. The finger is provided with depending spring anchors 174, and springs 176 are stretched between these anchors and fixed anchors 178 on the bottom wall 142. As will be appreciated, the springs 176 tend to hold the finger down in position to engage the gear 20 carried by the cradle shoe 148.

Downward or counterclockwise movement of the finger 168 as effected by the springs 176 is limited by stops 180provided on the plates 140 and 144, and engaged by shoulders or projections 182 on the rear or butt end of the finger 168. A push rod 184 is provided on each side of the gear 164, being mounted in brackets 186. The push rods are engageable with the underside of the finger 168 and are normally biased downwardly by springs 188. The push rods are engageable with a stop projecting from a fixed part of the machine 10,

whereby the finger 168 is moved upwardly or in a clockwise direction to the position shown in Fig. 5 when the transfer unit 128 is in the gear-receiving position shown. The gear-transfer unit is pivotable about the tubular extension 130, as will be set forth shortly hereinafter, and it will be apparent that upon such pivoting, in a clockwise direction, the push rods 184 will be raised from the stop 190 whereby the tip 172 of the finger 168 is resiliently brought into engagement with a gear 20, to hold the gear in the cradle shoe 148.

A hydraulic mechanism (Fig. 5) 192 is secured on a fixed part of the machine 10, and is provided with an upwardly directedrack 194 slidable in a guide 196. The rack teeth 198 mesh with the pinion 138 formed integral with the sleeve 136. Thus, when the switch 158 is actuated by the presence of a gear in the cradle shoe, operation of the hydraulic mechanism is instituted whereby the rack 194 moves upwardly and consequently causes the entire transfer unit 128 to pivot from the full line position shown in Fig. 5 in a clockwise direction to the broken line position of Fig. 5. The uppermost corner of the rack 194 is provided with an insert 200 engageable with the actuating arm 202 of a switch mechanism 204, whereby to prevent further movement of the rack and of the transfer unit.

The plates 140 and 144 are provided with inserts 206 along their top edges, and these inserts are engageable with protuberances 208 forming stops limiting the clockwise pivoting of the transfer unit. The protuberances 208 are mounted on a slide 210 which is slidable on a base 212 mounted on a fixed part of the machine 10. The junction between the slide and base has a very shallow rise on the order of 2, and a knurled handle or micrometer mechanism 214 is provided for rotating a screw 216 passing through a depending nut 218 on the slide, whereby to raise or lower the protuberances 208 with extreme precision.

The transfer of a gear from the chute 36 to the cradle shoe 148 and the pivoting of the transfer unit will be understood from the description heretofore. Since the gear 20 meshes with the idler gear 164 and the idler gear is driven by the timing gear 134, the gear 20 is rotating in proper timed relation to the rotation of the hob 12 when the gear 20 is brought into axial alignment with the split work arbor 14. The work arbor then is telescoped in accordance with conventional practice, such telescoping being effected automatically by the control circuit of the-machine, and the hydraulic mechanism 192 operates reversely to return the transfer unit 128 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5, and also shown in Fig. l. The transfer unit then is in position to receive another gear from the chute.

As heretofore shown and described, the invention is adapted for automatically loading and timing gears into a gear-finishing machine. A further embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 7 and 8 wherein the loading is manual and the timing is semiautomatic. More particularly, the machine 10 is indicated only rather generally, since it remainsidentical with the gear-finishing machine 10 previously described. In this instance, the gears are manually loaded onto the arbor, but are semiautomatically timed before the two halves of the arbor telescope to lock the gear in position thereon.

Many parts of the embodiment of the invention shown inFigs. 7 and 8 are similar to those heretofore described, and are identified by similar numerals with the addition of the sufiix a. The machine 10 remains as previously described and only a fragment thereof is shown in a general manner. The timing unit, identified generally by the numeral 220, includes a bracket 222 suitably afiixed to the machine. A pair of spaced plates 224 and 225 extend upwardly from the bracket 222 and include integral rearwardly extending supports 226, the purpose of which will be more fully explained hereinafter. As will be observed, one edge of each of the supports 226 is concave at 228. A bracket 230 is affixed to the rear or outer face of the plate 224 and is provided with an integral hub 232 in which the timing shaft 132a is journaled by means of suitable bearings. A timing gear 134a is fixed on the outer end of the timing shaft.

A sleeve 234 is journaled by means of suitable bearings on the timing shaft 132a between the hub 232 and the timing gear 134a, and is provided with a radially extending arm 236. This radially extending arm is provided near its outer end with a tubular bushing or insert 238 journaling anidler shaft 240 therein by means of suitable bearings 242. An idler timing gear 164a is mounted on the shaft 240, and meshes with the timing gear 134a. An arm or handle 246 extends at right angles from the arm 236 for pivoting the arm 236 about the timing shaft 132a, the idler gear 164a remaining in mesh with the timing gear 134a at all times. The supports 226 carry a bridge member 248 having a slide 250 mounted in a dovetail groove therein. This slide is axially movable by a screw-threaded arrangement having a knurled knob 214a thereon. The slide isprovided with a very shallow taper, similarly to the slide 210 previously described, and is provided with a depending projection or nib 208a which is vertically adjustable in very small increments by horizontal adjustment of the slide 250.

A stop lever 252 projects from the sleeve 234 at an obtuse angle to the arm 236, and is provided with an insert 254 engageable with the projection or nib 208a whereby to limit movement of the arm 236 with the idler gear 164a properly meshing with a gear, such as. one of the gears 20, to be finished on the gear-finishing machine.

The timing device or unit 220 is provided with a pair of switches 256 and 258 respectively having switch arms 260 and 262 thereon, the arms respectively carrying rollers 264 and 266 at their tips. The sleeve 234 is provided with a pair of radially extending switch actuating pins 268 and 270, respectively engageable with the rollers 264 and 266. The switches 256 and 258 are connected through a conduit 272 to the control circuit or mech anism of the gear-finishing machine.

The operation is as follows: A gear, such as one of the gears 20, to be tested is manually placed on the arbor. The arbor is not telescoped and hence does not fix the gear thereon. The handle 246 is engaged by the hand, and the arm 236 is pivoted to carry the idler gear 164a into engagement with the gear to be finished. The timing shaft 132a initially is not rotating, but, when the switch 256 is actuated by engagement of the switch pin 268 with the roller 264, the shaft 132a starts to rotate in proper timed relation with the rotation of the work arbor and of the finishing hob or cutter. As will be apparent, the meshing of the idler gear 164a with the gear on the arbor properly times the gear on the arbor, and the control mechanism of the fiishing machine subsequently causes the arbor to telescope and to lock the gear in place thereon. As a protection for the operator, the feed of the hob or cutter cannot start until the timer idling gear has been withdrawn by manual movement of the handle 246. Such movement causes the switch actuator pin 270 to engage the roller 266, whereby the switch 258 is operated to cause the control mechanism to start the cutter or hob to feed in the proper direction to finish cut the gear.

It will now be apparent that a superior timing mechanism for timing gears to be finished or otherwise acted upon has been presented. In the preferred form, this timing mechanism is incorporated in an automatic loading apparatus, but can also beused in conjunction with manual loading.

Various changes in structure will no doubt occur to those skilled in the art, and will be understood as forming a part of this invention insofar as they fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. In combination with a machine having a work arbor and having a shaft rotatable in timed relation to said arbor, a timing device for properly phasing a work gear on said arbor, comprising a timing gear fixed on said shaft, a support pivotable about said shaft, an idler gear rotatably carried by said support, said idler gear meshing with said timing gear and orbiting about said timing gear upon pivoting of said support whereby said idler gear meshes with a work gear on said arbor to phase the gear on said arbor, said idler gear subsequently moving away fromsaid work gear upon reverse pivoting of said support, and means for pivoting said support.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the support-pivoting means includes means for automatically pivoting said support.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the support-pivoting means includes manually operable means.

4. The combination as set forth in claim. 3 wherein the machine includes a hob, and further including switch means operable to control the starting of said timing shaft upon pivoting of said support to cause said idler gear to mesh with a work gear, and switch means for controlling the starting of the feed of said hob upon Ereverse pivoting of said support to move said idler gear away from said work gear.

5. In combination with a machine having a work arbor and having a shaft rotatable in timed relation to said arbor, a timing device for properly phasing a work gear on said arbor, comprising a timing gear fixed on said shaft, a support pivotable about said shaft, an idler gear rotatably carried by said support, said idler gear meshing with said timing gear and orbiting about said timing gear upon pivoting of said support whereby said idler gear meshes with a work gear on said arbor to phase the gear on said arbor, said idler gear subsequently moving away from said work gear upon reverse pivoting of said support, means for pivoting said support, and stop means engageable with a part on said support for limiting movement of said support with said idler gear meshing with a work gear and said work gear on said arbor, said stop being adjustable longitudinally of said part, and one of said stop and said part having a surface inclined at a shallow angle relative to such direction of movement to effect a fine adjustment of said stop relative to said part transverse of such direction of movement.

6. In combination with a machine having a work arbor and having a shaft rotatable in timed relation to said arbor, a loading and timing device for properly phasing a work gear on said arbor, comprising a timing gear fixed on said shaft, a support pivotable about said shaft, an idler gear rotatably carried by said support, said idler gear meshing with said timing gear and orbiting about said timing gear upon pivoting of said support, means on said support rotatably carrying a work gear meshing with said idler gear, said work gear being moved into alignment 7. with said arbor upon pivoting of said support, and means for pivoting said support,

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein the gear-carrying means on the pivotable support comprises means engaging a gear adjacent the periphery thereof, and

leaving the center thereof free for engagement by the machine arbor.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 7 wherein the gear-carrying means comprises a cradle and a retaining member opposed thereto.

9. The combination set forth in claim 8 wherein the retaining member is spring biased into gear carrying position, and further including a stop on said machine, and means cooperable therewith when said cradle is in gearreceiving position for automatically moving said retaining member away from said cradle to provide clearance for a gear received in said cradle.

10. In combination with a machine having a Work arbor and having a shaft rotatable in timed relation to said arbor, a loading and timing device for properly phasing a work gear on said arbor, comprising a timing gear fixed on said shaft, a support pivotable about said shaft, means on said support for carrying a work gear from a receiving station to said arbor, means at said receiving station for supplying a succession of gear-s to said carrying means, an idler gear rotatably carried by said support and meshing with a work gear carried by said carrying means, said idler gear mesh-ing with said timing gear and thereby driving said work gear in timed relation to the rotation of said shaft, said idler gear and the work gear 0 carried by said carrying means orbiting about said timing gear upon pivoting of said support whereby said idler gear properly phases the work gear carried by said carrying means as said work gear is carried to said arbor, said carrying means and said idler gear subsequently moving away from said work gear upon reverse pivoting of said support, and means for pivoting said support.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 10 wherein the gear-supplying means comprises an inclined guide way.

12. The combination set forth in claim 10 wherein the gear-supplying means comprises a conveyor belt.

13. In combination with a machine having a Work arbor and having a shaft rotatable in timed relation to said arbor, a timing device for properly phasing a work gear on said arbor, comprising a timing gear fixed. on

said shaft, a support pivot-able about said shaft, an idler gear rotatably carried by said support, said idler gear References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,794,424 Smith et a1. Mar..3, 1931 2,692,535 Praeg Oct, 26, 1954 2,733,641 Praeg Feb. 7, 1956 

